Sometimes it's hard
by djaly
Summary: Sometimes it's hard being a God,a Namek on Earth,a teenager and...alone
1. pressure

Disclaimer:I do so not own any of the characters of DBZ,though being allowed to play with them.  
  
Summary:Sometimes,it's not quite easy being one of only two Nameks on Earth,it's young God,a teenager and...alone.  
  
Author's note:I don't know,why I started writing this.It just some kinda ,found' me.Have fun while reading it.  
  
Sometimes it's hard..  
  
By X6193  
  
A mild breeze arrived Dende in his sleep.The cold air made the young Namek shudder a little and woke him up.He slowly rubed one's eyes and tried to focus on something in his room,but the darkness of the night didn't allow this to him.  
  
Dende sat up,feeling the warmth of the blanket gone from the skin of his chest and arms.He had been sleeping without a shirt or anything like this for some years now because he found it more comfortable this way,though now being able to feel the cool breezes,which always crept through his windows.  
  
I really should get some windowpanes...and shut them.  
  
He didn't know,what time it was,but he could guess that it was something around two or three in the morning,like it always was,when he woke up during the night.And how he hated these nights!!If once awake,he couldn't go back to sleep.This habit had started a few months ago,after Son-Goku and Oob had gone on their little ,vacation'.  
  
The young Namek pushed himself out of his bed,heading towards the door.So many things he had been thinking about since then,so many unanswered questions in his mind.The door made some squeaking sound as he opened it and instantly hoped,that Piccolo hadn't heard it.He had annoyingly good ears,even for a Namek being.So,Dende avoided making any other noise,while sneaking through the halls of the Palace till he finally was outside.  
  
The air of the night laid cold on his shoulders but didn't made him shudder,though,all he was wearing,were some gray sweatpants.He went straight to the Lookout over the cold white marble plates,which were like ice under his feet.But he didn't mind,he was thinking about other matters.  
  
Dende sat down at the edge of the Lookout,his legs dangling over the massive white stone,that was a complete contrast to the darkness under his feet and over his head.Tonight,the sky was clouded,not a single star was shining down on the young Namek and the moon seemed to have disappeared somewhere far behind the dark fog.Lucky,he had a Namek's eyes and so it was somewhat easier for him to see in the darkness surrounding him.  
  
Dende let out a deep sigh,while supporting his upper body with his hands that rested on the icy marble.He gazed into the big nothingness underneath his legs and felt the questions coming back into his mind.  
  
What am I supposed to do here?They don't need me,do they?They manage everything just fine by themselves.The only reason they need me,is that I'm able to create Dragon Balls,that's all I'm good for.  
  
A part of him knew exactly that this wasn't true,but another part of him wanted to believe that these ideas were real.Because if they were,he would have the perfect excuse for going home to Namek.  
  
I miss home so much.I miss you all,brothers,I miss you so much.I hope you're alright,are you?  
  
He wished to see the brothers of his age,wanted to see,what they had become.Some were fighters,some,like him,not.He was a healer,he avoided violence.  
  
And that's why I'm not able to protect the planet I'm God of.Without Son- Goku,I would have died very long ago.I'm not even able to protect myself,how can someone see me to defend and protect a whole planet with a bunch of people on it?!I must admit,though,I have agreed to the idea of becoming the new God of Earth,but I was just a child,still am a child in some parts of me,why did nobody stop me?I was and am way to young for this job,there's so much responsibility in it..I just can't handle things like protecting Earth from Boo or any other things lying in this category.I'm too weak.Good,I can heal,let's celebrate!I would like to know,how Menok and the other fighters of my generation are.Do they even remember me?And what about the healers?Olan was much more powerful than me back in the old days..bet he still is.Why me?Why have I been chosen?!It's so sad being alone on this planet.Okay,I'm not completely alone,Piccolo is here,too,but he's not like me,he's a fighter.As there was Nail inside him,and I think Kami was at least a part a fighter.Piccolo wouldn't understand,he's a loner,he likes the silence,he doesn't need days or nights full of conversations,but I do.I've never been like him....I will never be like him,though sometimes wishing it.Maybe then I could handle things a little better.I admire his strength and his self-esteem,he's always so confident and knows what to do.Maybe it's Kami's influence,but I don't think so.Piccolo is pretty capable of making his own decisions,he doesn't like it,when somebody dares to criticize his judgement.I often ask him,why he does so,sometimes he answers,sometimes not.It's his pride that refuses him a lot,but Nail and Kami do their best to push more humanity inside him.He takes good care of me and I'm grateful,he's my whole family,though not being a direct relative to me.But Nail was,so Piccolo is in some kinda way,too.  
  
A fresh wind made Dende's feelers cradle a bit.  
  
But I'm not like them,I'm weak and alone.I'm a teenager in Namek terms,I shouldn't have to wear this duty of being a God......I.......I don't know how to express....I'm.....I'm feeling useless here.  
  
Dende clenched his left hand into a fist.  
  
Why is that so?Why can't I be more powerful,why can't I do a better job?  
  
The pain in his hand called him back to reality.He opened his fist and some drops of violet blood floaded down his wrist.His sharp nails had drilled four deep holes into the soft green flesh of his own.Dende watched it gliding down his wrist and forearm,where it dripped on the white marble,creating some violet spots.He cleaned his hand in his trousers and sighed again,shaking his head,he looked up into the sky,as some drops of water landed on his forehead.  
  
Within moments it was raining with full power,hitting the young Namek everywhere,but Dende didn't move.He simply sat there as if the rain would wash all his sorrows and negative feelings away,while it mixed with the blood of the wound in his hand.The teenager leaned back and laid down on the cold plates just to feel the water running down his cheeks and mouth,relaxing under the soft touch.  
  
Inside the palace,Piccolo was watching the young God with a somewhat worried expression on his face..  
  
To be continued  
  
That it was,my first DBZ fanfic.Thanks for reading it..Please review,even if it's not the best.  
  
Have a good day,morning,afternoon,evening or night,  
  
X6193 


	2. conversation

Author's note: I wanna say sorry for all the mistakes I make!!I know that my English isn't the best,but they don't teach us anything else in school.Like PISA said,the German education system could be much better.Yeah right,I'm German,that's why I make so many mistakes.SORRY!!!!  
  
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Piccolo stood behind one of the windows inside the Palace and watched Dende,who was lying outside near the Lookout,while it was raining whatever the sky had to deliver.He didn't quite understand what the younger Namek was doing out there,but it couldn't be that healthy,could it?  
  
He heard Nail's voice in the back of his head,telling him to do anything.Nail would never stop worrying about one of his youngest brothers.But Piccolo refused him this wish,'cause he wanted to observe before doing something wrong.He had been watching Dende's strange behaviour for almost two months now and had never found the right words to begin a conversation that would help him understanding the young god.  
  
Piccolo was worried,not as much as Nail but worried.He had grown fond of the boy during the last,almost twenty years,had learnt to care for him and to like caring for him.The teenager was a part of his family,which included the Z-fighters,their families and,of course,Mr.Popo.But Dende was special,he was a Namek,somebody like him,though being a healer.  
  
The Namek chuckled slightly.Dende was against even the smallest kinds of violence like killing bugs or so.Nobody near him was allowed to kill something or somebody innocent,he would become very defensive,if this topic came up.Piccolo had to do his exercises,not including meditating,outside the Palace,somewhere far far away.  
  
You would just destroy the walls,Dende had said,I beg you to practise somewhere else.  
  
To Piccolo's surprise,the boy could be very stubborn,if he wanted to.  
  
What's wrong with you,Dende?Why can't you tell me,what's bothering you?It can't be that bad,can it?C'mon lad,you do trust me,don't you?You've grown so much since I saw you for the first time on Namek.You were an innocent little child,so naïve but brave.You helped us fighting against Freezer by healing our wounds,you were so scared but refused to go,you almost died.Then,you became god,still a child,'t was our second meeting,wasn't it?You had so many questions about the Earth and it's people,the duties of your new job...and it was me,who answered all of them.You were such an annoying little brat,but a cute annoying little brat,I think it was Nail whose influence calmed me down back there.Now,I don't need his influence anymore,I really do care for you kid,you know that,don't you?Maybe that's why you lost your respect for me,if it's about decisions and important things.You don't need my advices anymore,you don't even wanna argue with me.You make your decision,next topic.Did I taught you to act like this?I think,I really did..damn.But it's good the way it went,for a teenager,you're a damn good god.  
  
Piccolo's eyes narrowed as the dark green figure outside the window stood up and started walking back to the Palace's doors.He went slowly over the wet marble,his gaze was fixed on the plates.He looked depressed.The older Namek had to make a decision.Facing Dende and talking,or going back to bed?But Piccolo had already waited too long,he wanted to solve the problem,now.  
  
He watched the lad coming closer and finally entering the Palace.His whole body was wet and his pants were soaked full of water.  
  
"Hey Kid."  
  
Dende seemed to freeze in his place,his muscles tensed.Why could Piccolo never sleep like ordinary people?Okay,Piccolo wasn't ordinary,he was a Namek with one very own character.  
  
"Hey,"Dende searched for words,he couldn't lie to Piccolo,the older Namek was able to tell when he was lying,"Why don't ya sleep?'t isn't even morning yet."  
  
Dende avoided making any eye-contact.That would just make it worse for him.Piccolo registered the tension inside the boy,was he afraid of him?  
  
"The rain woke me up.Don't like this sound,it's bloody annoying.But what about you?Why have you been out there,"he nodded towards the Lookout,he wanted answeres.  
  
"Just needed some fresh air,I couldn't sleep,then the rain started falling,"Oh,Dende was such a bad liar.He was too honest to do a thing like that and Piccolo knew that,so if Dende was lying,he really didn't want to answer.  
  
"And now,you're looking like crap,better change your clothes and dry yourself,or you'll become ill within some hours,"the tone of Piccolo's voice was steady and calm,the signs for Dende not to argue,because he was able to translate,what Piccolo was actually saying,A fucking monch would look rich next ta ya,change your cloth or whatever this bloody thing on your legs is supposed to be,dry yourself and do it bloody QUICKLY!!!And don't you dare to contradict!!'In all their years,Dende had done a damn good job to work out his dictionary Piccolo-English,English-Piccolo,though he hadn't written it down..yet.  
  
"Yeah yeah,whatever you want,"Dende muttered as he walked past Piccolo,or at least tried to,'cause suddenly he was stopped by th older Namek's grip on his arm.  
  
Piccolo wouldn't let go of him right now,he did so not like the mood Dende was in.  
  
"Tell me what's wrong with you,"wasn't that hard to ask,was it?  
  
Dende was stunned,so Piccolo had seen it.Of course,he had,he was Mr. Perceptive of the Year.and the next year...and the next..  
  
Lying?No,he couldn't,this wasn't the time and the place.  
  
"I dunno,"well,at least,it wasn't a lie.  
  
"What were you thinking,that made you lying in the rain?"C'mon Dende,tell me,I need to know,let me help you.  
  
Dende swallowed.Time to tell the truth.  
  
"I was thinking 'bout home,"and the stone crashed down from the young Namek's heart,straight to the ground.It was out,he had said it.  
  
"..."  
  
Piccolo didn't know what to say,he unfastened his grip and Dende walked slowly back into his room.Enough for the early morning.When the door was shut,Piccolo blinked and shook his head.  
  
**How can I solve this?  
  
To be continued..  
  
Any ideas how Piccolo could solve the problem?I've got a few.Please review,it would help me a lot to hear your opinions.  
  
Thanks for reading  
  
X6193 


	3. fury in my bones

I'm writing again.Every time, I eat something with noodles, it just flashes in front of my inner eye and I have to type, maybe my hands are ill and noodles are like a virus for them.I think, I'm seriously insane, amn't I ?  
  
Ohhh yeah, you're waiting for the story.. There you go..have fun while reading it and please review.  
  
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Things couldn't have developed much worser than possible.  
  
Piccolo's mind was racing, while the Namek paced through his room from the left corner into the right one and back.His legs felt unsteady but he didn't bother, there was a big problem lying in the Palace, or better, in Dende  
  
***I was thinking 'bout home.***  
  
The depressed look on the lad's face, the cracking in his soft voice, and if Piccolo had seen his eyes, he would have found little drops of water in them, which had not been caused by the rain.The picture just wouldn't let go of him, he had always considered Dende as a very cheerful person, never brooding like this.Why hadn't he realized that it had been an act?Why hadn't he cared?He should have, after all, he knew the boy for almost twenty years.How long had Dende been hiding it?Why had he been hiding?Didn't he trust Piccolo?  
  
The Namek felt his fury growing, he had the need to kill burning in his veins.Little sparks of yellow energy flashed between his shining white nails.He was so bloody angry with himself!  
  
***Why did I never realize that he needs his brothers?How fucking blind have I been?The lad's soul was breaking under the duties of being god and he always kept his childish smile and the gleam in his eyes.Where did he learn to fake in such a perfect way?I didn't taught him, I would remember.Maybe, if I had cared more, if I had been there for him, if I had pushed away my stupid pride just a few more times, he would have come to me.It's my bloody fault!!He's way too young for all of this, why did nobody say a word, when he volunteered for the job?He was just a child and now, he's old enough for his first boyfriend.If he's thinking about this topic,too?Maybe not, due to the fact that we don't need a partner to spit out the egg, sex is not that necessary, but it's fun, isn't it?Please, whoever's hearing me, I won't say it out loud but please help me!!How can I solve this problem?I should talk to him once more in a real conversation kinda way, perhaps during the afternoon.I just hope that he's willing to talk with me about his feelings, I would never make him do this, but I'm not quite sure, if I can hold my temper back.I don't want to destroy the last things inside him that make him Dende.Good plan, good organisation.Talk about it, analyze it, solve it.Let it just bloody work!!***  
  
If somebody had seen Piccolo,he would have believed that he was about to walk holes into the floor.  
  
It was still a few hours before sunrise and the rain had stopped, and now the aroma of the cold water was lying in the air.It tickled inside Piccolo's nose and laid like ice on his bare green skin.There was this special tension in the scent of the night,that Piccolo only knew before a battle started..and he didn't like it one bit.  
  
Kami's voice came to his thoughts.  
  
**A god with homesickness won't do anything good for the Earth.Solve his problem.**  
  
Piccolo's fury grew with every single letter.  
  
**How can you dare to think of him just as a god?!In first place, he's a teenager, nothing else!A teenager with a lack of social life!A teenager who needs somebody of his own age to relate to!How can you be that heartless, tell me old man, how?!Just because you liked your pension being, it doesn't say that he's to like it either.He's somewhere between childhood and adulthood, stuck on a foreign planet with just a few friends and he's to be its god.Homesickness is just a normal reaction, so don't tell me what to do!I know bloody well that he needs my help right now!!**  
  
The Namek looked like an insane.His eyes were narrowed into tight slits,his forehad was trembling and there were fast and short lightnings between his feelers.His jaw was tensed and you almost heard his teeth cracking as he bit them together.  
  
Why was the lad such a good acteur?Why did he never lost a word about his feelings?  
  
Piccolo decided that brooding wouldn't help him, he needed some action to get his anger under control.He changed quickly into his battle gear and took of to a desert on the other half of the Earth.  
  
Till sunrise, many exercises would have been done...  
  
**************  
  
Dende was lying in his bed, a light sleep had finally found him after the events of the early morning.The blanket rested on his cold and still wet skin, he hadn't had the strength to dry himself and had simply fallen into his bed.But if somebody had watched him, he/she would have seen that, under his eyelids, his pupils were moving as a consequence of the dream he had.  
  
Again,he dreamt about home, or more precisely, about his best childhoodfriend..  
  
"Menok," he whispered softly into his pillow and smiled slightly, "Love you,too."  
  
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What a cute ending...I guess, I will write the third chapter about the dream, right?How did you like this one?Please review, I still wanna hear your ideas and opinions!!  
  
Have a nice ..ummm..whatever you want to have,  
  
X6193 


	4. the dream

I really hope that you'll like this one, it wasn't kind of easy to write because of the Namekian language. You see, I'm not even writing in my own language , wonderful German, so I needed a lot of imagination and sometimes, for the English part, a dictionary. Bye the way, today my English teacher praised me. Yep, I'm a smart girl *hehe*, you got this little sarcastic comment, don't you?  
  
During typing I started dreaming myself, maybe,on one glorious day, I'll be able to visit the U.S.A or at least Great Britain. Do you think that they'll understand me over there? Yeah, I know ,Shut the fuck up and start with the story!' Please review...  
  
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Namek, something around 35 years ago  
  
A little child with a white robe sat in front of a field of flowers and tried to catch one of the beautiful butterflies with its hands. Today, nobody had wanted to join him, they were all waiting for the newcomers, who should arrive during second sunrise.  
  
The child loved flowers and butterflies, it could have spent hours watching them. It wondered how they might feel, these glittering small wings, which were so rich of different colours. The child reached up as far as possible if you thought of his height, which was around 3'6. His soft small fingers had almost caught the little creature, as the child lost his balance and fell down on his cute face into the white and blue flowers.  
  
It pushed itself up and had such a sad look in its eyes, as if it would start crying immediately. Its right knee hurted a little.Why had the butterfly flown away? The child had just wanted to play.  
  
"Dari ki reisa?" (What are you doing there?)  
  
The child sat up, turned his head slightly and saw a young boy, maybe his own age, standing in front of him. The boy's skin was a little darker than the child's one and the pink muscles on arms and knees seemed to be red.The child blinked twice.  
  
"Nas kai hisu, tanea nas at revre bela polg," (I fell down, though I just wanted to play) it pointed towards the butterflies ,"Mea noi drig revru." (But he didn't want to)  
  
"Nas revre reik dari polg," (I want to play with you) the darker boy offered with a bright childish smile.  
  
"Wrequai?" (Really?) the smaller boy questioned, not one of his brothers had been willing to play with him today, they had all been too nervous about the other's arrival.  
  
"Diu." (Yep)  
  
"Nas treya serw," (I'd love to) the other boy said with such a gleam in his eyes that all three suns of Namek would have been jealous.  
  
"Nura ti," (By the way) the dark green boy sat down in front of the other child ,"Nas kai Menok." (I'm Menok)  
  
"Nas kai Dende." (I'm Dende)  
  
The boys grinned at each other, showing their small canines.  
  
Dende liked Menok a lot.  
  
Menok liked Dende a lot.  
  
*****************************  
  
Several years later, still on Namek  
  
Menok laid in his bed and couldn't sleep, he wanted to go out to play with Dende. Stupid cold! He had fallen into a lake three days ago during practise with Grein, one of his older brothers. Menok was to become a fighter, so he had to practise. The boy pouted, it was so unfair!  
  
A soft knock on the door woke his attention. It opened and he saw his best friend's face appearing.  
  
"Ni loqu, ni loqu," (Come in, come in) Menok had missed his friend so badly, he couldn't wait to talk to him.  
  
"Daru haggat neu reisa?" (How are you?) Dende shut the door behind him and walked over to the other boy.  
  
"Jigh frewat xari," (Much better now) Menok answered and made some room for Dende on his bed, which the other Namek took in.  
  
"Nas daru prekla," (I missed you) Dende said smiling.  
  
"Nas daru tisha," (Me you, too) Menok really enjoyed Dende's presence. He could almost feel his cold leaving, while he talked to Dende, who told him everything that had happened since his illness had started.  
  
They laughed a lot.  
  
They really loved being together.  
  
********************************  
  
Namek, 20 years ago  
  
Menok sat on the edge of a cliff, the water underneath his legs seemed to be darker than usual. The fighter hated the thought that he had to go, he didn't want to leave everything behind, or more precisly, Dende. After Namek had been destroyed and recreated, he had realized how much his friend meant to him, he didn't want to let go of this special link, but he had to. He needed to practise in another area of Namek, in the Drilpogs, some big desert far far away.  
  
The other wanna-be fighters had mocked him because of this, had said that they would be a loving couple and asked, if they would have kissed yet.  
  
Stupid brothers, they didn't know a thing about his relationship with Dende. But he had to admit though, the thought of kissing Dende made his heart so light and warm, he really wanted to know, what it would be like.  
  
"Dari ki reisa?"  
  
The musical voice made him turn his head, as Dende came up to the spot, where Menok was sitting. He plopped down next to his best friend and they watched the small waves crushing against the stone wall they sat on.  
  
"Vrekon ney." (Just thinking)  
  
Neither of them wanted to look at each other, the pain was too big.  
  
"Nas arw nkejou jefr mlopr." (I heard them talking) Dende sighed, they had mocked him, too, though he had to admit that the thought of kissing Menok had sent pleasant shivers down his spine.  
  
"Nas recdfer olik nuqu." (I'd rather stay) Menok's voice was shaking, everything seemed to turn against them.  
  
Dende grabbed Menok's hand and looked into the other Namek's eyes.  
  
"Nas fretga njouji daru." (I will never forget you)  
  
Suddenly, Dende's voice was the most beautiful thing on Namek, Menok's heart jumped by its sound and a thought raced into his mind, he wanted a proper good-bye.  
  
"Nas revre hutre pikais deylo." (I will make sure of that)  
  
He leaned forward and his lips touched Dende's. They stayed in this position for several minutes, after all, it was the first kiss for both of them.  
  
As Menok finally let go off Dende, his cheeks went red.  
  
"Dende..na..nas," he stammered shily.  
  
Dende, whose cheeks had also become red, laid his head on Menok's shoulder.  
  
"Menok," he whispered softly," Tinikare."(Love you, too)  
  
It should be their last hours together.....  
  
************************  
  
....for twenty years by now.  
  
Dende turned around and his blanket glided to the floor. His eyes were filled with tears.  
  
**If he still remembers me?**  
  
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Did you like it? Let's see how I continue, I don't know yet, maybe I should eat some noodles...  
  
Please review. **Do I repeat myself?**  
  
Have some nice dreams, too,  
  
X6193 


	5. illness

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews you wrote!! It makes me a really happy German girl that you like my story! You know, the German government doesn't let us much to be happy about...but you do, thank you. And I will follow db's advice to search for a beta reader, so : I SEARCH A BETA READER, 'CAUSE I'M GERMAN AND I NEED SOMEBODY TO CORRECT MY MISTAKES. MY ENGLISH TEACHER IS NOT ON THE LIST, HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT DBZ OR DBGT IS!! (Poor guy, isn't he?) SO PLEASE VOLUNTEER!!!  
  
I should get something to drink, this screaming is really exhausting *smile*.  
  
Now to the story...  
  
Please review  
  
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The bright sunlight was shining through the window and the white walls seemed to glow in its golden colour, that was carrying a pleasant warmth into the room and on Dende's back, who was still lying in his bed, though it was already about noon.  
  
The young Namek did so not want to get up, this wasn't meant to be his day. His head was aching, even when his eyes, which burnt like fire itself, were shut, while his mouth was dry and all the muscles under the cold green skin were trembling. As he tried to reach for the blanket, that still lied on the floor, he immediately felt dizzy and everything in front of his eyes was blurred and unsteady. A painful groan left his burning throat as he finally managed to put the warming cover back onto his icy body, hoping it would make things a little better, but he was wrong.  
  
A few minutes later, his breath became short and uncontrolled, the trembling even worser than it had already been and a sudden heat rushed through his bones and flesh, that it made him sick. Tears shot into his eyes, panic gained the control of his mind, Dende had never felt anything like this before.  
  
But he couldn't just stay in bed, a whole planet needed him, he was its guardian, he had to protect earth from everything that might be dangerous.  
  
With an unknown strength, he pushed himself up and every tension in his back got worse, even his neck was arguing. He cracked his eyes slowly open, regretting that the red silk curtains next to the window weren't shut, because now, he had to face the light of the day and it burnt straight into his pupils. His vision was still blurred, everything around him seemed to move, but a weak thought kept him awake.  
  
**Earth needs you, you're the Guardian, you're not to fail.**  
  
His legs were shaking like never before, as he pulled them out of the bed and set them onto the marble floor, that stirred under the touch of his feet. He needed several minutes to get used to his new surroundings and then managed to stand up, though he had to sit down again, his legs hadn't done him the favour to carry the weight of his body. He tried again....with success.  
  
There were only four yards until he would reach his closet, but he considered them as the most cruelest four yards of his whole life. He tripped several times and almost fell down once, after making contact with a hole in the floor, that was completely new to him. The door of the closet was such a release, he felt so proud of himself for crossing four yards, he couldn't believe it.  
  
He opened the wooden door and it made a squeaking noise, that was pure torture for his sensitive ears and made his headache climb from ,I can't stand it' to ,Oh my God, this must be hell'. He walked inside the small room and exermined it, as if seeing it for the first time in his life. It was darker in there as in the main- room, but that didn't bother him much, his eyes appreciated the dim light, that made it easier to face the clothes that laid in there.  
  
Dende's look wandered over his robes and he decided not to wear one of them today, he simply didn't feel like it. So, he grabbed onto one of the shelves, where he reached a typical Namekian collar, that felt soft and light in his slightly trembling hands. He put it on and then searched for some trousers on another shelf. A white one it would be today with a blue belt. He'd almost fallen as he got into the right side of the soft cold fabric, that made a complete contrast to his now burning skin. Some drops of sweat left his forehad as he put on the shoes.  
  
Dende decided against a shirt, his body was so hot that even the trousers and the collar made him sweat, so why wearing more clothes than he considered as neccesary?  
  
He went out of the closet back into the room and closed the door behind his back, cursing not to have remembered the sound it would made. The bright light was burning against his face again and he protected his eyes with his trembling palm as good as possible.  
  
If somebody had seen him, he would have thought of a smaller Nail just without his vest.  
  
But Dende still didn't feel any better, with every breath his throat became drier, with every blink his headache got worser and with every step his body trembled more and more. Hot and cold rushes went trough his system, an odd mix between hell and Northpole, but he kept on going to the door, he was to do his work.  
  
After a few steps, he didn't have the strength to keep his eyes any more seconds open and shut them. A terrible mistake. The black in front of Dende's inner eye started turning, red and violet spots appeared and dissappeared with such a speed, it made him dizzy.....he collapsed on the cold floor.  
  
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Somewhere far away from the palace, in a lonely desert, a fast moving shadow could be seen. If it had stopped for just one single moment, you could have regitered a man's figure...a man's figure with green skin, pink muscles on the forearms, a pair of antennas, sharp white nails and teeth and a bald head. The ones who knew him, called him Piccolo.  
  
Suddenly, Piccolo stopped moving and seemed to freeze on the sand under his feet. It had been like a flash in his mind, that made him realize that something was wrong in the palace. After all, he had a telepathical link to Dende and now, the link was interrupted. This didn't mean anything good.  
  
The Namek could feel some drops of sweat leaving his forehead, as he took off to the blue, non- clouded sky towards the palace, his mind racing again.  
  
**Let him be okay, please let him be okay! I couldn't forgive myself, if the lad wasn't alright.**  
  
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Hmmm..what's wrong with Dende? I'll tell ya..if I feel like telling ya.*hehe*  
  
And again: I search a beta reader, please connect me.  
  
Please review.  
  
Have not the thing Dende has got,  
  
X6193 


	6. it's got a name

Hey folks! I don' wanna explain much right now, just that it's been a rather long time since the last update an' I'm really sorry for that! For the ones o' you, who don't know that I change my settings and accept anonymous reviews from now on, too, well yeah, I do, so please review an' have some fun while reading this one, 'kay?  
  
Special greetings go to Cy *o ya* !!  
  
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Piccolo flew as fast as his energy allowed, while inside his thoughts were turning like unstoppable wheels around one topic, that made him worry like hell : the lad isn't all right, something has happened to him. The Namek had never worried about something or somebody like this until Son Gohan had come into his life, whom he had adopted in some kind of way, but with Dende, it was different.  
  
Maybe it was because of Nail's worried voice inside his head, that told him like to fly insanely faster and to do everything possible for his little brother. Oh, how many times had he been almost driven crazy by this overprotecting Namek?! Why couldn't Nail just accept that the child had matured and was now a teenager who *hated* it whenever somebody played warden with him. Every Namek had his pride and Dende's just seemed to have developed itself during the last few years.  
  
Piccolo almost smirked at this thought; the lad had quite a temper by now, oh yes. And a very colourful way of expressing himself, too. Of course, the older Namek was never able to tell where he'd learned such words..... He just blamed Mr. Popo, who was well-known for always cursing.  
  
He just hoped that said person would have already taken care of the kid to prevent any serious problems, but if Piccolo considered the fact that something was so wrong with Dende that the lad wasn't even able to hold up their link, serious problems would be something good.... better than 'he's about to die' problems anyway.  
  
The landscape underneath his flashlike form in the middle of the blue sky had already turned into one flowding river of greens, yellows and from time to time blues, that it would have made every other being feeling dizzy by now, but Piccolo didn't really care. His mind was fixed on his goal: the Palace. Even as an airplane crossed his way, he pushed it into another direction with just a blow of his right arm. He didn't harm anyone of course, but nobody could be sure if he had done it on purpose, or if it had just been mere luck. Nothing seemed more important to him than the kid.  
  
Finally, after the long flight that resembled an eternity, the white marble plates of the palace approached in his view and he raised his speed again.  
  
*I'm near, kid, just hang in there. Be fine, oh please, don't be dead.*  
  
He landed right in front of the large doors and went hastily into the hall of Dende's room. The whole atmosphere around him felt wrong, something like "bad karma" was lying between the quiet walls, walls which seemed to have darkened. Piccolo's eye caught Mr. Popo who was just coming out of the young guardian's chambers.  
  
"What's wrong with him?"The Namek's voice was huskier than under normal circumstances, but he hardly noticed his harsh tone as he spoke to the servant of God. He just wanted to know why their link was blocked and he was eager to get this information as fast as possible, without even noticing the worried look on Mr. Popo's face. The former demon simply wished to solve this problem soon, so he needed to know what was going on behind the shut doors.  
  
"I don't know," the servant said with a mild cracking in his voice,"I found him lying on the floor, breathing short and hard. He wouldn't wake when I spoke to him. I put him into his bed and gave him some extra covers, his body was burning as if it was on fire, fever I would say. I'll go into the garden and make some medicine out of my flowers to heal him." Mr. Popo turned and nearly ran into the direction of the garden.  
  
Piccolo frowned. "I knew it!" He punched into the nearest wall and made the stone crack but not collapse. "I knew it! I told him to dry himself after this "lying-in-the-rain session"! And now he's ill, just *great*!!" He took a few deep breaths and calmed down, sorrow replacing the anger inside his chest. His hand slowly reached for the door and pushed it open.  
  
He entered the room he had already entered a thousand times before, but everything felt different. His eyes focused on the bed on the other side of the room, where he could recognize Dende's form, lying under several blankets, almost fighting for the air to fill his lungs. There weren't many things in the universe which could scare Piccolo, but this image did. The kid looked like a corpse! He rushed silently to his side and sat down on the edge of the bed, observing the face, that now looked old and tired, nothing like Dende's usual self.  
  
Piccolo laid a hand on the boy's forehead and his eyes widened, as he felt the hot skin under his fingers and palm. Sweat flowed down his nails as he took his hand back, the lad's sweat, and now, the older Namek got really scared, because suddenly he knew that Mr. Popo's medicine, whether it was the best on earth or not, would so not help Dende.  
  
*Kjeitiva.*  
  
His mind remembered that kind of illness, that only Nameks could get. It could have been easily healed, if they had been on Namek. Humans would call it a bad flu, but for Nameks it was a lot worse than that. Kjeitiva could only been healed if the Namek had got a juice made out of several ingredients, which only grew on Namek because of the three suns. The plants would never survive in just a few minutes of darkness. So how to get the medicine? If it wasn't given to the sick person, the person would probably die during the next few days, because, though being like a flu, Kjeitiva had different effects on a Namek's body. The virus attacked the person's system and slowed it down, before starting with the complete destruction. It burned the system down until nothing was left by turning cells in the Namek's blood into little venom bombs, which could explode everywhere inside the body. That was the reason for the fever, so this process had already started in Dende's circulation.  
  
"C'mon lad, fight it until I find a way to go home with ya, okay? Don't give up, be strong and stubborn like ya always are, I'll find a solution, I promise."  
  
But in the depths of his mind, for the first time of his life, Piccolo wasn't sure if he could keep his word. He simply hoped he would be able to do so.  
  
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Did ya like it?  
  
Please review.  
  
Have..... uh.... Did you know that " Popo" is a german word for " ass" ? ( Mr. Ass or Mr. Bottom.... funny thing)  
  
Bye,  
  
X6193 


	7. help

His breathing was low and steady, though being in a battle against Uub, his student and friend in whose skills as a fighter the Saiyajin trusted and believed, Son- Goku tried to control the amount of air his body needed during their training sessions, because it would help him to get better stamina. The fighter knew that if he was able to control his breathing, his body wouldn't get tired and any kind of exhaustion would merely get lost. He took a deep breath as he raised his left leg to kick the young boy into his side, but Uub ducked. Son- Goku tried again to hit the small figure, when a familiar raspy voice was heard.

" Son- Goku " , he frowned as he noticed an unusual urgency in Piccolo's voice and decided to keep quiet until his former arch- rival would have told him what was up, "You have to come to the Palace as fast as possible, it's about life and death! "

"What?" Goku asked in surprise and thought that he might have heard wrong. _Why would Piccolo call me, if it's about life and death. Dende's kami, it's his business, isn't it? I mean………… _The ways of his mind were interrupted by Piccolo.

" Now get that lazy ass o' yers up here! " Son- Goku knew better than to argue. If the Namekian put it that way, it would be _really  _urgent. The man took off into the sky followed by Uub, who had also listened to their conversation and was rather curious why the alien named Piccolo, as his mentor had told him, wanted them, or more precisely Son- Goku, to come to the Palace. Uub had never seen said building before, but the Sayiajin had promised him to show him once he was older. Well, now, he was indeed older than a few months ago.

*********************************

In the meantime, Piccolo had removed the covers off of Dende. He didn't know much about this kind of illness, only the information he had received from Nail, who was yelling inside his head, but it seemed that heat was the last thing a Namekian's body needed, when survival depended on making the blood flow slower. The Namekian people did have a rather low body temperature - about 23° to 27° - because their muscles and skin didn't need so much warmth to relax. So Piccolo had been rather surprised when Dende had gotten Kjeitiva just from lying in the rain. Under ordinary circumstances, this wouldn't have done a thing to him, even though he was a teenager.  The older Namekian assumed that Dende had been living a little too long on Earth and due to coming here when he was still a child, his body seemed to have adopted some sore points of the humans' biology.

So now, he tried to keep the body as cool as possible for not wanting the circulation to work faster than it already did. It was quite an ironical thought to pray to God right now to save his own life. Piccolo merely hoped that Son- Goku would show up soon.

He looked over to Dende again and was relieved when he saw that the lad's situation hadn't changed for the worse, yet. His good ears allowed him to hear how the younger Namekian was fighting for the air to fill his lungs and he saw him clenching his teeth together. Dende was in pain, no doubt about that one. Piccolo could already feel the Saiyajin's ki coming closer and it was followed by some other ki. The Namekian remembered the other one; it was Uub, Son- Goku's latest student. 

*********************************

"See that white thing there?" Son- Goku yelled over his shoulder, pointing at an object some several miles away.

Uub nodded, guessing that this had to be the Palace of Earth's Guardian. Before even knowing what he was doing, his curiosity got the better of him and the young boy overtook his mentor and flew as fast as possible to be able to make out more details of this white platform.

The Saiyajin grinned and sped up to catch up with his student and friend, already feeling Piccolo's ki. He hadn't been to the Palace for – what had Bulma said? – five years. He had preferred to stay at home and to spend some time with his family. He had been rather surprised to find Dende among the visitors at the tournament some months ago. Man, had the boy grown!! Now, he looked more mature -  a lot like Piccolo - but Son- Goku had shrugged it off as a consequence of both of them being Namekian and therefore being related in some kind of way. 

Suddenly, the Z-fighter frowned. Shouldn't he be able to sense the guardian's ki? There was none, merely an energy that sparkled from time to time, like a fire that was about to go out with the next breath of wind. Might that be the reason Piccolo had called for him? 

It's about life and death 

Was earth's guardian…………. No! Son-Goku didn't even dare to think about this question. By the time he and Uub arrived at the Look-out and landed gently on the cold marble, Mr. Popo was running towards them.

"Son-Goku, Uub, Piccolo is already waiting for you", he stopped on front of them and indicated them to follow him, while he kept on informing them about the current situation.

The more he heard, the more he got worried. Son-Goku told Uub, who was looking around curiously, to go into Mr. Popo's garden to look at the beautiful flowers there.  He then stepped into Dende's chambers.

Closing the door behind him, he walked over to the bed and approached Piccolo.

" What's wrong with him? Mr. Popo said that he was very ill," the Saiyajin regarded the coughing teenager's form lying in his bed. He was so pale, his original emerald skin seemed to have turned into some shade of yellow and his cheeks and forehead remained in some kind of sapphire blue. Dende was shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm.

"He is", Piccolo's voice sounded much huskier than usual, and he didn't dare to take his eyes off the boy's body while he was speaking. "It's possible that he'll die within the next few days, maybe even hours. You see, we don't have time to lose."

"But what can I do?"

"You have to help us with your teleportation. Bring us to New Namek.  If you don't. . . he will die."


End file.
